From the fab files – kadron linkage

Fabrication files that is.

So we got a generous revalue for the car after the Yee-Haw It’s Texas race, and had enough left over after fixing the broken stuff that we decided we should probably make the car faster by adding power. At least it will increase the chances of a spectacular failure. Besides, this is racing, not grocery getting.

So after months of scouring ebay and craigslist, we finally scored an awesome set of Kadrons for $95. And by awesome, I mean horrible. We’ll now be able to use twice as much gas to make 5 more horsepower (if we’re lucky). Unfortunately, the linkage that came with them was rather ancient and worn out, so we decided to fabricate our own.

A quick trip to the hardware store and $10 of ball joints from McMaster-Carr later. I present to you – the LeMons Kadron linkage:

Notice the high quality machine work that went into clearancing – this is not your average shade tree mechanic work here. This is something much more special. And by special, I mean short bus.

Yes, the bell crank is the old seat belt mounting tab, a door hinge, and a piece of square tubing.

Amazingly enough – this contraption seems to work ok. Will it hold up to the rigors of endurance racing? Who knows. I suspect it will fail sometime between leaving our paddock spot and getting to tech inspection. But if not, it will unleash an improbable amount of power. Probably.

Stay Hoopy.

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Actually, the one NASA engineer on the team stood there in puzzlement during the discussion of how to build this because they couldn’t draw what they were talking about. When they showed me the crappy one that came with the Carbs, it made more sense, but I really didn’t figure out what all the hand waving meant until I saw it the next weekend.

It wasn’t that we couldn’t draw it out…. it was that we didn’t NEED to. We knew that trial and error and error would be involved. I’m still amazed that the same basic design as we started with is the one we finished with after only minor tweaks. Pure luck.